Razzle Dazzle

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Razzle Dazzle's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Razzle Dazzle completed by Young Media Australia (YMA) on 18 March 2007.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.

YMA review

This review of the movie Razzle Dazzle contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

In Australia, thousands of children participate each year in the Sanosafe Dance Troupe Spectacular. It is a highly competitive world, full of eccentric characters, pushy parents and young stars in the making.

For the last few years, the competition has been won by Miss Elizabeth’s dance school troupe. Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall) has high expectations of her students and her teaching style is one steeped in discipline, sparse praise and, at times, humiliation of her students. She has a low opinion of her competitors, particularly Jonathan Scott (Ben Miller).

Mr Jonathan runs his Jazzketeers with different aspirations. He tends to choreograph dances with political messages, which are less acceptable to audiences and judges alike and consequently his dance school has achieved less success in the competition. Nonetheless, Mr Jonathan has a loyal support base, including his school’s business manager Barbara(Denise Roberts), Justine(Kerry Armstrong), the pushy mother of  his student Tenille(Shayni Notelovitz), and his costume maker (Tara Morice).

Both Miss Elizabeth and Mr Jonathan enter their dance troupes into the competition and must cope with many obstacles and adversities along the way.

Themes

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Competition; Pushy parents; Family and relationships

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

• During a dance routing, children dressed as soldiers armed with machine guns round up and tie up a group of children dressed as Muslim women.

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

• During some dance rehearsals the children are asked to pretend they are being tortured and dying. These death throes although shown for comic effect, may be upsetting to younger viewers. Mr Jonathon asks his dance class to imagine that their pets have been electrocuted. One of the girls is seen to be shocked and start crying at this thought.

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

• Miss Elizabeth targets and humiliates her students about their diet choices, their weight gain and dance technique.
• During a dance rehearsal in which the girls are wearing gas masks, one of the girls passes out after nearly suffocating in a mask with no breathing holes. She is next seen slumped on a chair recovering. While this scene is depicted in a comic manner, it may upset some children.

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

There is nothing in this film which is likely to disturb children in this age group.

Product placement

• During the final competition, some Libra sponsorship is evident.

Sexual references

• Mr Jonathan briefly considers producing a dance to highlight the problem of venereal disease.

Nudity and sexual activity

None of concern

Use of substances

• Tenille’s mother, Justine, is frequently seen holding a glass of wine during her interviews and also when entertaining friends. On one occasion, she is seen to be drinking Berocca and Tenille refers to her mother’s hangover as a ‘sick headache’.

Coarse language

The movie's message

Razzle Dazzle is a feel good mockumentary about the world of children’s dance competitions. Younger children may not follow the comedic tone of the movie, but may enjoy the colourful costumes and performances. Older children and adults are likely to recognise and enjoy the eccentric characters inhabiting this dance world.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• The true spirit of competition and that winning isn’t everything.
• How to win and lose graciously.
• Being determined and persistent in achieving one’s goals, but not at the cost of others.